Tables used for the games of billiards and pool are made with extreme accuracy, they are leveled as well as being square, and they are characterized by cushioned rails which are accurately formed and must so be maintained. It is the removability of these rails with which the present invention is concerned and which are most often installed more or less permanently at the perimeter of the table and onto which the cushion is secured and covered with felt or the like. It is the rail that presents a resilient curb from which the game balls rebound, and like the table top or slate per se the said cushions are covered with felted fabric. Needless to say, it is necessary to re-cover the slate and/or to replace and repair the said cushions from time to time and said repair is usually a difficult task with ordinary table construction, involving the removal of through bolts and cover plates, said bolts passing through aligned holes in the slate or frame of the table. Alignment is one major problem and appearance another. Therefore, it is a general object of this invention to provide for the replaceability of the rails in a game table of the type under consideration and primarily for serviceability when replacing the cushions and the felt covers.
Billiard and pool tables involve perimeter rails which join at right angular corners and which are interrupted by pockets in the case of pool tables. That is, the rails are mitered at each corner of the table and are usually fastened to the table without facility for removal; that is, the rails are usually positioned by tightly fitted hold-down bolts passed through the fastened members and hidden from view by removable cover plates. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to improve upon the installation and removability of such rails and to provide a formation thereof suitable to this end. It is also an object of this invention to provide hidden fasteners for removable installation of said rails, the exposed top and side surfaces of the rails, the visible surfaces thereof, remaining undisturbed and without openings, while the hold-down fasteners employed to position the replaceable rails enter only from beneath the rails.
It is an object of this invention to provide a game table rail construction of the type hereinabove referred to and which advantageously employs the slate for support of the rails adapted to be accurately positioned thereon. With the present invention, adequate oversized openings in the slate, which cannot be too accurate in placement, are compensated for by the universal positioning of the hold-down bolts therethrough.
It is another object of this invention to provide a game table rail that lends itself to accurate mass production methods, being adapted to milling and routing methods of wood working, or the like.